Eternal
by keep.calm.and.smile.on
Summary: [Our forevers remind me of rice paper sheets.] A take on time loops and the coexistence of religions. Rating only for serious injuries.


[Our forevers remind me of rice paper sheets.]

**Disclaimer:** I don't own Bleach- that's Tite Kubo's job.

**Warning:** Anyone can use my ideas _as long as _they make it better.

**Pairings:** Canon/Ichiruki/Ishihime

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><p>The first time he falls is a blur of confusion. He doesn't remember much of the <em>before <em>but a blur-armies coming and going meeting in all the wrong times in all the wrong places. People, faces he can never remember- Quincy, shinigami, Fullbringer, spirit, human. A war he can't remember, full of blood and gore and the darker side of everyone's humanity. Was he the first to fall? Did he do something stupid that forced his friends to follow?

There was order once, he thinks. He doesn't know why, (he can't remember his own name) but he remembers some things: fighting, dying, allies, winning, and everyone somehow managing to be happy. His definition of everyone now means the ones that fell with him.

...Once in a while, one of them falls in a funk. Whenever that happens, they all swoop in at once, the sense of who is supposed to know who be _damned_, and beat out the misery. He's always embarrassed once he slips out of his doldrums, but none of the rest them seem to mind. Heh. Rukia's always the best at kicking him back into shape.

Orihime once described their not so ragtag team as "six hearts beating as one." It's sappy enough to make Ishida snort if anyone else had said it, but they do count on each other. The Ishida family is never one for obvious familiarity- and often, for very good reasons. But that never stopped any of said pseudo-organs from nudging Uryuu back on track. Ishida would do the same in their place.

His comrades' bonds show up in other ways. They flawlessly fight together, so melees are nowhere as hard as they used to be. Which is great when somebody tries to single one of them out. Usually him- he's always been a target. So it's always satisfying to see the shock on an enemy's face when they all jump in.

His friends are powerful by themselves, but nothing beats Renji shoving an enemy into Chad's final move. The fact that most opponents tend to pass over Chad just allows them to get vindictive. They don't have a problem with getting creative either. Rukia has been called the white moon to his black sun (he doesn't have what normal people would call luck). Orihime can raise Tsubaki and her shield as quickly as Ishida could pull his arrows to raise systematic mayhem. It didn't hurt that she could give the illusion of creating multiple shields- Rukia had remarked that it was reminiscent to one of the seventh espada's abilities.

Increased chances for survival aside, there were other benefits. Everyone manages to meet each other in every jump. Maybe it took a nudge from others, but they always stay friends. It took a few tries, and there were betrayals until everyone was strong enough to face each other, but at least nobody killed each other permanently.

The loops weren't all bad. They weren't a sign of a desperate last defense. They were best described as...nourishment. (He thinks) the old Soul King had explained it to him. The universe sustained itself on the bonds its inhabitants created with each other. Death is not the end, but the ties that survived it become much more potent.

The tastier it is, the more the universe wants it. Different religions and cults have different ways of fulfilling the world's needs. It keeps all the apocalypses at bay. The Soul King and Royal Guard kept a hands-on but isolated approach, until they no longer qualified. By that time, the Soul King had picked an heir, and he, Chad, Orihime, Renji, Rukia and Uryuu had taken their place.

The loops were a gift-curse. After a while, the loops would take the friends to the heights and falls of different religions, and everywhere in-between. They would grow up in different time periods and places, and learn different ways for better or worse. The group would have to fight to meet each other at the beginnings of the early gift-loops. Afterwards, they just were better at beating their problems. The rest of time was the standard loop.

Honestly, everyone thought the loops were just to show how the world wanted to work. The place that was supposed to be described as teeming with life-energy _was described as an empty grave_.

Occasionally they met Ryunosuke and Shino and traded stories. Sometimes, their misadventures were as strange as his and his friends'.

He had and would rise to shatter the wheel of fate for his precious people. He'd done it before. But for now, he would enjoy the ride with his friends.

His mother had named him 'one who protects'. He wouldn't fail her.

But for now, he would sleep.

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><p>AN: I have a couple of ideas, but f you have any suggestions for religions, send me a name and source(s) of information. Send your ideas and possible improvements in a review! I'm looking for a beta because ow. I need help.

If you think of any new ideas, let me know! If it's too much for one story, I can use it for another.

As much as it might upset believers, religions can be considered mythology. So some religious figures can be considered as real as living unicorns made out of cotton candy and stalactites. :P


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